From the PSN the other day:

A community dialogue on shaping the city’s future - finding out what Pasadenans like, dislike, want to keep and want to change in the city’s General Plan - will be held Saturday at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

“We’re pulling people together to see if there are some issues or concerns we share in common,” said Marsha Rood, a former Pasadena city planner now with Urban Reinventions.

The “Common Vision, Common Goals” discussion, Rood said, was set up by a “loose coalition” of grass-roots, non-profit groups - including “Open Space Now” - concerned with the city’s future growth.

“We want people to be involved throughout the process,” she said. “One of our issues is there hasn’t been an ongoing community participation in some of the (General Plan) update in a meaningful way, some feel.”

The discussion will be led by Steve Preston of Pasadena, the deputy city manager of San Gabriel, who teaches on cities’ general plan procedures at USC and UCLA Extension.

Personally, the biggest problem I’ve had with the City’s General Plan is the blatant disregard of one of its main goals: to make the Crown City an easy place to get around without a car. I’ve told that to “Smilin’-Except-When-He’s-Not-Named-City-Manager” Richard Bruckner.

In these trying economic times, yeah, more people (like 20%) or something are riding the Gold Line. However, I can tell you from experience every weekday, that there really aren’t that many new people riding the bus.

Yeah, that’s a way to attract riders. (Courtesy WCGB)

One of the things I’ve been repeating over and over and over and over and over and over and over again (and over) is how the ARTS bus needs to expand its schedule. It’s not a good schedule for people out there who work at night, who work late on weekends, who work anywhere really past 9 p.m. What about expanding the ARTS bus in Old Town - people will be more apt to take it than to pay $20,000 for a cab. Plus, it’s more likely than not that the bus driver will actually speak English and won’t pretend like they don’t know where they’re going, taking you the long ass way home.

I think our leaders should also take the ARTS bus or the MTA at least 2-3 times a week. Lead by example, bitches.

The wisdom of Paul Little has taught me that the City has a hard time dealing with the MTA and the like when it comes to providing additional ARTS bus lines - but I don’t see how hard it is to extend the schedule of the already established lines. The ARTS bus is by far more reliable (and cheaper) than taking the MTA from one point of town to the other.

I’ve also been told by one top City official that he’d like to sit down with me and discuss these issues. That was in December of 2006. It’s almost June of 2008. Mayor Bill Bogaard - you get the Ham And Egger Award this week.

This is also a great lead in to another thing that is hurting the whole “walkability” idea - something that ends up as #8 on my Ten People Ruining Pasadena list:

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#8 - Annoying Homeless People, Like This Guy

I realize that homelessness in this City and State and Country is no laughing matter. I, myself, was nearly homeless last year - I mean, it can happen to anyone at any time. Especially in times like these where you could lose your home, your job, everything in an instant.

What really pisses me off, though, is that a lot of the homeless in Pasadena are imported homeless from other cities, specifically big bad Los Angeles. People down there at Union Station in LA (not the homeless shelter in Pasadena of the same name) simply give Gold Line tickets to these people and do everything but actually say “Go to Pasadena, there’s tons of Richie Riches there to give you money.”

The other kinds of homeless people I hate are the ones you find a lot of the time on that stretch of Colorado between Fair Oaks and Delacey. You know, the “I-couldn’t-get-a-decent-job-because-of-my-electric-blue-hair-and-stupid-piercings because-the-only-place-I-applied-for-a-job-was-Amoeba Records-because-working-at In N Out-is-so-not-punk rawk - so I’m going to panhandle on the streets of Pasadena” kids. Kids trying to “rebel” and be “cool” and “anarchy rulz” that panhandle and beg for money while sitting there with a tabby cat or drinking out of a Starbucks cup.

Yeah, those are the types of homeless that can go fuck themselves.

If you cleaned yourself up, you’d have a job by now

What about the ones that get really aggressive? For a while, there was a lady in Old Town who would DEMAND that you gave her $2.00 and would follow you around for a minute or two if you didn’t. What about the ones who are begging for money while sitting with a full pack of smokes? Maybe you should have bought food, not cigarettes, dickweed.

All of these types are giving the actual homeless people a bad name. The actual homeless people who, you know, can’t run up to get money from the General Fund because you actually have to be a complete drug addict or not speak English to get real help in this State. The people who have fallen on hard times that might not have immediate family in the area (or at all). You’ve got these pseudo-homeless that ends up making me not want to give ANY of them money because how do I know this isn’t just some rich kid from Silverlake trying to scam me? (Hey - a lot of those hipsters dress like homeless people).

I say we just adopt what they’re doing down in Los Angeles. Pick up some bus tokens at a check cashing place. The next time you’re down near Old Town, give the “wanna-be” homeless kid a bus token. Tell them to go down to Fair Oaks and Colorado’s southwestern corner and take the 267 to South Pasadena. Let’s just send them all down to South Pasadena or to Arcadia or something. Then use the rest of your bus tokens and start taking the bus yourself, if you can.

It’s like that movie “Pay It Forward” except, instead of money, we’ll be using foul-smelling people who are just too lazy to shower, too “rebellious” to stop looking like a dreg of society, and too haughty to get a job at Wendy’s.

The Proc Has Real Solutions For Pasadena.

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I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Be seeing you,

- AP